Another repulsive valentine to a replusive person at Cross Currents

What, precisely, is wrong with those idiots? For all their claims to be an objective and authentically Jewish voice, Cross Currents seems to exist mostly to prop up Jew-hating Christians. When JP II died, Cross Currents sat with the chief mourners and contributed nothing to the conversation about the Pope's campaign to cast Catholics as victims, rather than perpetrators, of the Holocaust. When that baseball chaplain made some theologically objectionable comments, Cross Currents came to his rescue. When Pat Robertson was rightly reviled for being an anti-Semite and a (possibly reformed) white supremacist, Cross Currents posted in his defense. When that creep Ted Haggard was exposed as a liar and an adulterer Cross Currents attempted to rehabilitate him with post after post after post. This week, Haggee is the down-on-his-luck Christan under fire from the press, and we've already had two Cross Current posts about how poor, corpulent Haggee is really one of our top ten friends of all time.

But let a reform Rabbi step out of line, and its out with the knives.

I mentioned the Temple at the beginning of this post, because the Rabbis teach that groundless hatred is why it was destroyed and that it won't be restored until this sin is erradicated. Most imagine that the hatred described by the Sages existed between the good, kosher Jews - perhaps Shloimy didn't listen to Beryl's drasha with enough respect; perhaps Shaindel failed to compliment Raizy on her new hairstyle - but this is historically inaccurate. In first century Palestine, the period the Rabbis describe, different Jewish sects were always and forever at each others throats. Take for instance, the Hellonists, who sparked the Great Revolt by defiling a shul in Ceasrea. Or, the Zealots who murdered the entire leadership of the southern command, and terrorized all of Jerusalem. Or, the Scarii who tried to provoke the Jews to fight by burning all the food in Jerusalem, and so terrified Yochana ben Zackai he was forced to escape Jerusalem in a coffin. Or the Jewish-Christians, who had a strong Jerusalem community (led, at one time by James, brother of Jesus) and were already circulating the books that would become the New Testament. In particular, John, the most anti-Semitic of the gospels, is believed by conservative scholars to have been published between 65 and 90.In short, Jerusalem, in the late 60s, was a wreck.

I have very little doubt that all of this - and more - is what the rabbis meant when they said that baseless hatred destroyed the Temple. And I have very little doubt that Safran's attacks on Yofee's legitimacy are a continuation of that sad legacy.

If it relates to Jews, Judaism, holidays, Midrash,Torah, halacha or anything similar, I probably have a post on it. And if I have a post on it, I probably have a good comment thread with great reader-provided information, too.

Try a search and see for yourself. If you can't find what you're looking for ask me.

Quotes

רֹאשׁ דְּבָרְךָ אֱמֶת קוֹרֵא מֵרֹאשׁ דּוֹר וָדוֹר עַם דּוֹרֶשְׁךָ דְּרֹשׁ
Your chief word is "truth"; You've called it out since the beginning. In each generation people interpret You [for themselves] and find [their own] meaning.

You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you odd. -Flannery O'Connor

“When in the afterglow of religious insight I can see a way that is good for all humans as it is for me—I will know it is His way.” - R. Abraham Joshua Heschel

I don't accept at all the quite popular argument that the press is responsible for the monarchy's recent troubles. The monarchy's responsible for the monarchy's recent troubles. To blame the press is the old thing of blaming the messenger for the message. -Anthony Holden

Said behind my back

"...he's trying to show that there are other facets to Orthodox Judaism. That we don't all think one way and vote one way. And he's occasionally entertaining when he's not being mean-spirited" [PsychoToddler]"

"He's witty. He's funny. He appreciates the ridiculous in life, and has no qualms about telling you when he thinks that you're being a moron" [Cara]

" I'm pretty sure [DovBear] is a really great guy who just wants to be able to ask questions and talk about things without the fear of someone claiming he's off the derech or on his way there." [Chaviva]